Passion for Paper

Wilmington native LYNDSEY CHILDERS, owner of Lyndsey’s Fine Paper, grew up loving art.

As a dancer and pageant competitor, she honed her ability to select evening gowns and heels, choose jewelry and apply makeup to put together the perfect look. During her time at Meredith College, where she studied interpersonal communication, Childers worked for the Autism Society of North Carolina. Her love of children led her to become a nanny during college summers, and after graduation she taught preschool.

One serendipitous day after teaching, Childers visited Mindy and Angie’s Fine Paper in Wilmington to purchase custom invitations for an event. Through the design process, the owners noted that Childers had a “good eye” for design. They also informed Childers that her project would be their last: It was time to focus on family, so they would soon close their doors. Then Childers got the surprise of a lifetime — the opportunity to buy the business. Owners Mindy and Angie saw that Childers’ personality, fueled by her education in communications, was ideal for interactions with all kinds of clientele.

“My first thought was no way,” Childers says. “I had no plans of owning a business and certainly not in something I wasn’t particularly educated in. Then I got to thinking: If someone well-seasoned in this business sees enough potential in me to offer to sell their business to me, including the name and branding, they must believe that I can do it. So, I took my chances. We signed papers in 2015, and the rest is history.”

Lyndsey’s Fine Paper offers the gamut of stationery products, from notepads, return address labels, and stamps to wedding programs, announcements and invitations, menus, napkins, and more. “Anything paper, I can do it,” she says, adding there is more to her shop than paper, like custom koozies and engraved cutting boards.

While weddings have been her biggest target market for the past decade, Childers says she has been surprised at the diversity of her customers. “I work with people throwing retirement parties and baby showers, and needing things for their businesses,” she says. “The range of clientele is very broad, which I love and find fascinating and fun.”

Childers designs with whimsical fonts and bold color palettes as well as with classic ivory and gold with traditional fonts and monograms. “I am doing the same thing as makeup for pageants, but with colors and fonts,” she says. “God had a plan for me. He blessed me with an eye for mixing and matching finishes and color palettes.”

There is more to Childers’ passion than color on pieces of paper. “I love the feel of paper, the textures, the smell of fresh ink on a nice cardstock. It has its own grace, elegance and class. I think stationery and old school handwritten letters are things of great respect. Something that someone took the time to hand write shows another level of appreciation,” she says.

“The world has become so digitally-focused,” she continues. “Holding a 20-year-old paper card or invitation evokes feelings you just can’t get from an email. The paper becomes a timeless treasure, holding meaningful special memories.”

Speaking of memories, Childers has designed for her all-time favorite Atlanta Braves player Chipper Jones, creating custom stationery, cups, koozies, stickers, tags, and labels for his children’s school items. “That was my biggest ‘oh my gosh is this real life’ moment,” she says. Her list of other distinguished customers includes Danni Baird of the Bravo television show “Southern Charm”; Wilmington locals Hannah Williams and Britt Creighton, co-owners of Blended Shoes + Apparel; Gianna Floyd, owner of Blush Clothier; and recently-retired WWAY news anchor Randy Aldridge.

One of Childers’ biggest takeaways from her experience with Lyndsey’s Fine Paper has been learning the value of believing in yourself. “If you can do that, who knows,” she says. “Ten years from now, you could be living out your dream job doing something you never knew you could achieve. I am!”

To view more of photographer Terah Hoobler’s work, go to terahhoobler.com.

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